Stroke survivors might benefit from electromagnetic pulses that stimulate their brains and spur on their recovery, a new study says.

This treatment — called electromagnetic network-targeted field (ENTF) therapy — significantly reduced disability in stroke survivors when combined with physical therapy, according to findings to be presented at an American Stroke Association (ASA) meeting next week.

In fact, more than a third of patients treated with ENTF achieved freedom from disability, researchers report.

“It’s clear that we need more effective rehabilitation therapies to fully improve patient outcomes. This promising potential therapy is unique in that it would be able to be conducted at home by the stroke survivor using a portable kit,” lead researcher Dr. Jeffrey Saver, a professor of neurology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, said in a news release. 

The electromagnetic therapy stimulates brain networks related to motor movement, cognitive function and other activities, researchers said.

“These neural networks show electrical disorganization after a stroke,” Saver said. In essence, the stimulation helps the brain heal and reorganize itself.

For the new study, researchers combined data from two clinical trials testing the effects of ENTF therapy after a stroke.

The trials both tested the Q Therapeutic System, an experimental cap-and-halo device that fits over a person’s head. The device delivers low-level pulses similar to those produced by a healthy central nervous system, providing stimulation intended to help the stroke-damaged brain heal.

BrainQ Technologies, an Israeli company, developed the system and sponsored both trials.

In all, 124 stroke survivors participated in the trials, including 65 treated with ENTF therapy and 59 given a sham treatment as a placebo.

The stroke patients entered the study about 14 days after their stroke occurred on average, and were moderately to severely disabled.

All participants received 40 to 45 real or sham ENTF sessions over eight to 12 weeks, alongside physical therapy during those sessions. 

They started their sessions in the hospital and continued with at-home treatments using portable kits.

After three months of treatment, about 34% of patients receiving ENTF therapy had achieved freedom from disability, compared to 12% of those who got the sham treatment, the study found.

Further, everyone who received ENTF therapy had measurable improvements in disability, researchers said.

No serious side effects were reported among patients receiving ENTF therapy, researchers added.

Because the two clinical trials were small, at least one large-scale trial is needed to confirm these results, said American Stroke Association spokesperson Dr. Joseph Broderick.

“The results are preliminary, highlighting the need for larger trials with balanced participant groups to assess the therapy’s effectiveness,” Broderick, a professor at the University of Cincinnati’s Gardner Neuroscience Institute, said in a news release.

“ENTF showed no safety issues, and there’s a strong demand for new recovery methods post-stroke,” added Broderick, who was not involved in the study.

This findings are scheduled to be presented Feb. 5 during the ASA’s annual meeting in New Orleans.

Findings presented at medical meetings should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.